UFC Edmonton Brings Electric Prelims to Alberta Saturday

UFC Edmonton fight week is here. Saturday night, the UFC's October schedule of events rolls on with a road trip in the Canadian province of Alberta with another edition of UFC Fight Night. Live coverage of UFC Edmonton begins with the prelims in the late afternoon at 5 pm ET/ 2 pm PT. 

Stateside, UFC Edmonton can be seen gavel-to-gavel on Paramount Plus. Main card action caps the evening at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on the Skydance-owned streaming platform. If there are no adjustments to be made between now and the weekend, UFC Edmonton will feature a slate of 13 fights inside the Octagon.

Saturday's card is the UFC's first trip to Edmonton since Nov. 2, 2024. That fall Saturday night, Brandon Moreno scored a unanimous decision victory over Amir Albazi in the main event of the evening. Expect heavy Canadian representation, with 12 fighters hailing from the great white north this week. 

UFC Edmonton Featured Prelim: Tanner Boser vs. Jhonata Diniz: Boser Looking for Win in Important "Home Game"

At the top of the undercard, the heavyweights meet when Tanner Boser (22-11-1 MMA, 5-6 UFC) fights Jhonata Diniz (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC.) All fights mentioned herein are an advertised three rounds at five minutes per round. 

Boser enters the weekend with a record of 2-3 in his last five trips to the Octagon. He's reeling from a knockout loss in Winnipeg on April 18 to Gokhan Saricam (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the latter's UFC promotional debut.

Much like the April 18 bout in Manitoba, Tanner Boser finds himself fighting in front of his fellow countrymen. Will he secure the win in this "home game?"

Jhonata Diniz Returns After June 20 Cancellation

Across the way, Jhonata Diniz comes into UFC Edmonton having posted a mark of 3-2 in his last five fights. He last fought 53 weeks ago at the then-UFC Apex and went down in defeat at the hands of Mario Pinto (13-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) inside the second round.

From there, the Diniz camp was slated to prepare for a fight on June 20 against Jose Montahna (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in what would have been the latter's UFC promotional debut. This bout, the second attempt at booking a UFC debut for Montahna, was scrubbed after Diniz withdrew from the contest due to an unspecified injury.

With a clean bill of health now afforded to him, Diniz has two questions to be answered: How much ring rust does he have and can he tune out the hostle crowd reactions in UFC Edmonton?

UFC Edmonton Co-Featured Prelim: Julien Leblanc vs. Nick Galanti: Leblanc Still in Search of First UFC Win

Immediately prior to the featured prelim, the UFC Edmonton co-featured prelim happens at 185 lbs when Julien Leblanc (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) fights Nick Galanti (8-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) The former sports a record of 4-1 in his last five outings. 

On April 18 during UFC Winnipeg, Leblanc made his first walk to the cage as a member of the UFC's roster, falling by way of first-round submission due to a rear-naked choke against Robert Valentin (12-6, 1 NC MMA, 2-3 UFC.) Nick Galanti wasn't supposed to have been Julien Leblanc's original opponent.

Initially. Leblanc was to have versed Gilbert Urbina in Edmonton on Saturday night before he withdrew from the event for reasons unknown. Leblanc has had slightly over two weeks to prepare for Galanti, so how will he do?

Nick Galanti Brings Six-Fight Winning Streak to Short-Notice Debut

Meanwhile, Nick Galanti is 5-0 in his last five bouts. The Cage Fury alumnus is currently on a six-fight winning streak ahead of UFC Edmonton.

Less than two months ago, he trekked to Meta Apex in Enterprise, NV for DWCS 89, needing just 35 seconds and some punches to stop Carlos Petruzzella (15-2 MMA,) By night's end, he secured his UFC deal.

A mantra that MMA fighters have to follow at times is a simple one: Get ready for a fight and stay ready. That's especially true for short-notice bouts like the one Nick Galanti is facing here. 

How will he respond to the bright lights? Tune in and find out.

UFC Edmonton: Javad Mahjoub vs. Joel Faglier: Mahjoub Makes First Walk Since February

Also on the UFC Edmonton undercard, heavyweights collide in a battle of undefeateds between Javad Mahjoub (5-0 MMA, UFC promotional debut) and Joel Faglier (6-0 MMA, UFC promotional debut.) Javad Mahjoub, a veteran of Montreal Quintet, last fought on Feb. 28.

That night, he scored a first-round submission with one second left on the clock against Pietro Gentile (1-1 MMA) in Unified MMA 67. Faglier wasn't scheduled to be Mahjoub's opposition this weekend.

At first, Mahjoub had been slated to verse Louie Sutherland on Saturday night, but Sutherland wound up withdrawing from the show with an unspecified injury. Will he score a win for his fellow Canadians?

Joel Faglier Looks to Halt Mahjoub's Momentum

In the other corner, Joel Faglier has won 14 fights in a row dating back to his amateur MMA career. On the night of Feb. 20, he bested Cody East (16-8 MMA) in Fury FC 116. 

Faglier will be facing a partisan crowd on Saturday. Can the American overcome the boos the crowd will give him?

Rest of the Prelims

UFC Edmonton's undercard is rounded out by these bouts:

• A women's flyweight contest between Kaitlyn Cerminara (18-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) and Mackenzie Stiller (6-1 MMA, UFC promotional debut,)
• a bantamweight fight matching Chad Anheliger (13-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) with Steven Koslow (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC,)
• a women's bantamweight encounter pairing No. 15 contender Melissa Crowden (8-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) against Chelsea Chandler (7-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC,)
• and a bantamweight showcase versing Cody Chovancek (9-0 MMA, UFC promotional debut) with Soo Young You (16-4, 2 NC MMA, 2-1 UFC.)